Loan Applications Up Despite Shortage

Digital mortgage processor Ellie Mae is reporting a six percent annual gain of closed loans, even though the supply of available homes on the market remains tight.

Jonathan Corr, president and CEO of Ellie Mae, posits, "What we may be seeing is a move from a sellers market to more of a buyers market as we go forward over the next couple of quarters," adding that the market may be loosening up as inventory is starting to grow, rather than diminish, resulting in cooling home prices. CNBC reports that the software company "has been considered a disruptor in the residential mortgage industry for its electronic mortgage applications."

In fact, higher prices and increased demand have been pushing some potential buyers out of the market. In June, sales of both existing and new homes fell. Meanwhile, weekly mortgage applications continue to plummet as well. On Wednesday, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that mortgage apps fell another 0.2 percent — or 12.6 percent from a year ago. "We've got a market where the economy's looking good, the labor market is solid, ... we actually have the demand, and the demand is increasing, from especially the millennial population," the CEO said. "But the market has been tight with inventory. That's driven prices up, [and] interest rates haven't helped the situation."

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